The Legend of Zelda: The New Beginning
by darkroses116
Summary: An ordinary girl faces terrors she never dreamt of and powerful enemies, the worst and most subtle of which may be her best friend. But along the way she learns that she is not so ordinary, and she must choose...Summary continued inside.
1. Chapter 1

she must choose: To embrace her destiny and protect a world not her own, or go back to her own world and continue with her life. Will she find the courage to do the right thing? Or will she run away as always...

ok. so i'm restarting the story i took down a while ago. i just changed the name. i hope you like it. personally i think it's the only halfway decent story i've ever written. please tell me what you think about it.

I do not own zelda.

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Chapter 1: 

I stared out the window of the train compartment as the landscape zoomed by. My friend Jenni sat curled up on the seat across from me reading a book. I glance at my watch: 6:18.

"Jenni," I said. She glanced up. "it's almost dinner, we should probably go up."

She nodded and put down the book. I waited while she yawned and stretched, and then we went upstairs together. As we walked towards the diner car I had to keep both my hands on the walls on either side of me to keep from falling down. Although we'd been on the train for three days now, I still found it impossible to walk without swaying from the constant motion.

At dinner we ordered what we wanted because free meals came with riding first class, along with a private compartment with seats that turned into bunk beds and a storage "closet" (it was more like a little hole built in the wall, and barely held anything). After we ate, Jenni and I headed over to the lookout, a car with windows on all sides so you could look out (no pun intended).

Almost immediately Jenni started flirting with a couple of guys who looked to be about 16 or 17, and proceeded to tell them she was 16. When they went to buy her some stuff from the snack bar, I went over to her.

"Weren't those guys absolutely adorable?" Jenni squealed.

"Sure, I guess. If you're like…oh, say…sixteen. Which you're not!"

She shrugged. "Close enough."

"Jenni, you're only thirteen." I said.

She folded her arms and tossed her blonde hair at me. "I'll be fourteen next month!" she defended herself. "And besides, I can pass for sixteen anyways."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Whatever," I said. "I'm going back to our room. See you later." She nodded and waved, smiling. I sighed as I made my way back to the room. It was true. Jenni looked much older than her real age. Even though she had just finished eighth grade, she could easily pass off as a sophomore or even a junior in high school. Me on the other hand, I could barely pass for twelve, even though I'd been fourteen for almost six months now. Jenni and I were exact opposites when it came to looks and personality. She was beautiful, mature, and outgoing, with her crystal blue eyes and long, golden hair that reached nearly to her waist. I was boring, unattractive, and shy. My light brown hair had once been almost as long as Jenni's, until the last week of school when I had crawled under my desk to pick up my pencil and bumped my head on the bottom of the desk and a fresh piece of gum stuck to it. Afterwards I had ended up having to cut it all off, and now it came only to the tops of my ears, so that I looked like a boy at first glance. The most interesting thing about me was my eyes. A deep violet, that sometimes looked grayish or blue, depending on my mood. The only part about myself I actually liked.

Back in the room, I unfolded the two top bunks and got my pajamas and my ocarina out from my suitcase. Then I put on my pajamas and climbed onto my bed. I played a few notes on the ocarina, then I just lay there thinking. After a while I heard Jenni come in. "Rachel, you asleep?" she whispered.

"No."

She put her pajamas on and climbed onto the bunk next to mine. We lay in silence for a while. Then Jenni said, "Rachel?" I turned my head so I could see her. "Play me a song."

I pulled myself over so I was sitting on the edge of the bed. Closing my eyes, I put the ocarina to my lips, and played. It was a song that filled the soul with joy. A song full of laughter, like my mother had been. She had taught me the song, the day she had given me the ocarina, the day she had a heart attack and died. That last memory of my mother, that I had often played when I felt sad or lonely, or when I did something I thought my mother would be proud of, I now played for Jenni.

And it was as I was playing that song, while my best friend and I sat in our room on a train headed for my grandmother's house, that my story really began. There was a crash, and then a jerk as the train suddenly stopped. I fell off the bed with a thump, and Jenni hurriedly crawled down from her bunk and came over to me. "Are you okay?" she asked in a concerned voice. I nodded and sat up.

"What's going on?"

Jenni shrugged. Then a voice came over the intercom. Jenni and I went out into the hall so we could hear it better. _"-are experiencing some technical difficulties. We will be sending people to each car to help with the evacuation-"_

The car erupted with noise. "Evacuation?" one woman screamed.

"Why are we evacuating?"

"What's going on?"

_"We ask that you please remain calm. I repeat -- please remain calm."_

"Remain calm? Are they insane?"

"How do they expect us to remain calm?"

"I want to know what's going on!"

"Ahem." Everyone silenced as a soldier entered the car.

"That's a soldier!" someone whispered.

"Why are there soldiers here?" someone else whispered. Soon everyone was yelling in panic again.

"SILENCE!" the soldier shouted. "We will now commence the evacuation. Everyone form a line! Single file! Women and children first! Do not panic!"

The soldier continued to shout out orders while the people in the car formed a single file line and began exiting the train through a door in the side of the car. Jenni and I were near the front of the line. I clung to Jenni in fright, and she took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly, though I could tell she was frightened as well.

Outside, more soldiers were directing people as they came off the train. As we stepped out, a soldier outside our car told us to gather with another group of people several feet away from the train. As we reached the group, we saw that they were in disarray. Jenni asked a man what was going on.

"A bomb's been planted on the train. It's supposed to go off any minute now!" the man replied.

"A bomb!" I looked at Jenni with fright. "Jenni, a bomb! There's a bomb!"

"We don't know that for sure, Rachel," she assured me.

"Jenni, are we gonna die? I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

"It'll be okay, Rachel! Just stay calm! Everything will be fine!"

"No, no! We have to get out of here! We have to run!" I screamed, tugging on her hand. I pulled myself free from her grasp, and ran off towards the forest in the distance.

"Wait! Rachel!" Jenni cried, running after me.

I ignored her, and ran into the forest. Brambles caught at my hair and clothes, and branches slapped me in the face, but still I kept running. All of a sudden, the ground gave way beneath me, and I slipped and fell into a hole. I grabbed onto a root that was dangling out of the ground near me. I looked down, and saw nothing, only darkness.

"Rachel!" I heard Jenni calling my name nearby. "Rachel!"

"Jenni!" I called weakly.

"Rachel?" I heard footsteps nearing, and Jenni appeared. "Rachel!" she exclaimed when she saw me. She knelt down on the ground in front of the hole where I had fallen, and reached her down towards me. "Take my hand," she said. I hesitated, because in one hand I held my ocarina, and with the other I grasped the root. Jenni saw this, and reached down a little further to grab my wrist. However, when she did this she lost her balance, and began to slip into the hole. She searched desperately for something to grab on to with her free hand, but found nothing and fell into the hole, pulling me with her.

It seemed like we fell forever, though it was probably only a short time. Jenni still clutched my wrist, so I knew she was there, but somehow I felt that I was alone. I'd thought I was lonely before, but I had never felt anything like this. That feeling of being utterly alone, the only existence in that eternal darkness. Then, just when I thought I could bear it no longer, the darkness ended, and Jenni and I fell with a splash into a lake.

I came up, gasping for air, as did Jenni, and we swam to the shore. We sat there for a while, letting the sun dry us. After some time, Jenni stood up and walked around a bit. I stayed where I was and watched her. "I wonder where we are?" she wondered aloud. I shrugged my shoulders, and pulled my knees up, resting my chin on them. Jenni came back and sat beside me. "Rachel?" I glanced at her. "Play me a song."

I nodded, and lifted up my ocarina, which I still held onto. This time I didn't play the joyous song my mother had taught me. Instead, I played a song that I had made up myself. It was a slow song, though not sad. It made me think of water, like the lake we had fallen into.

A strange feeling came over me as I played. A sort of tingling, all over my body. And then, Jenni screamed. I stopped playing abruptly, and turned to see giant, monstrous birds swooping over us, and grabbing Jenni. My body froze with fear. I wanted to move, to help Jenni, but I couldn't. My body wouldn't obey me. "Rachel!" Jenni screamed, reaching out to me. "Rachel! Help me!"

"J-Jenni!" I stammered. "Jenni!" And then I was running toward the bird that held Jenni in its claws. I was jumping on its back and banging on it as hard as I could. Then I was slipping off and clinging on for dear life. Then they were swarming around me, pecking at me and clawing at me. Then I was falling, and I hit the ground with a bone cracking thud. I moaned in pain, and saw the birds flying off with Jenni. I tried to push myself up with my arms, to late realizing my left arm was broken. I gasped as the pain shot up my arm, and fell back on the ground. My vision started to blur, and I heard voices, but they sounded very far away. I gave up the struggle to stay awake, and slipped into unconsciousness.

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so, what'd you think? please review! if it's the only thing you ever do for me, please just do that! even if you only write 3 words! or 2! just review! ugh. i sound so pathetic. oh well. 


	2. Chapter 2

i do not own zelda.

Chapter 2:

When I awoke, I was lying in a soft bed, and at first I thought it had all been a dream. But I slowly became aware of the aching in my arm, and when I opened my eyes I was in a room I had never seen before. The room was very small, and aside from a tiny dresser in the opposite corner, the bed I lay in was the only thing in the room. I sat up slowly, carefully avoiding the use of my left arm, and sat still for a moment to let the dizziness that swept over me clear away. When the dizziness was gone, I examined myself. My left arm was wrapped in bandages, and I was wearing a white, cotton nightgown that was somewhat too big for me.

As I sat there, I heard a voice say, "Oh! You're awake!"

Looking over to the doorway, I saw that it was a rather large, brown-haired woman who appeared to be in her early- to mid-thirties. She was carrying a bowl of water and a rag. "That's good," the woman continued, bringing the bowl and rag over and sitting on the bed next to me. "You've been sleeping for almost two weeks now. We were beginning to think you would never wake up."

"W-where am I?" I managed to stammer out.

"Lay down," the woman commanded, ignoring my question.

I obeyed. The woman dipped the rag in the water, and began dabbing my face with it. The water was extremely cold, and for some reason it stung my skin. I flinched. The woman muttered something under her breath, and made a strange sign with her fingers. "Come on." she said cheerfully, walking to the door. "Up! Up! We must get you something to eat!"

Confused, I climbed out of bed and followed her. Outside of my small room was a larger room that appeared to be a kitchen/dining room. Inside the room were a table and chairs, and something that looked like the old fashioned stoves I had studied in school, and cabinets lining one of the walls. On the stove was a pot, and the woman took a bowl from one of the cabinets and filled it from the pot, bringing it over to me. "Eat up!" the woman said, handing me the bowl and a spoon.

I examined the contents of the bowl. It looked sort of like oatmeal, and the smell of food had made me realize how hungry I was, so I decided to try it. It tasted quite good, and I was tempted to scarf it all down, but I knew that would be stupid, and I ate slowly.

The woman sat down next to me, and watched while I ate.

"So, where am I?" I repeated my question from earlier, after I had finished eating.

"You are in the village of Amevia." she replied.

"Amevia?" I asked.

"Yes, Amevia."

"Okay...umm, who _are_ you?"

The woman chuckled. "I am Barbara. But you may call me Barb." I nodded. "And may I ask what your name is?"

"I'm Rachel."

"I see. Rachel." We said nothing for a moment.

I broke the silence, saying, "What kind of place is Amevia?"

Barb looked surprised at my question. "You mean you have never heard of it?" I shook my head. She eyed me curiously for a moment, then went on to answer my question. "We serve the great goddess, Nayru." she said.

"Nayru?"

"My! Don't tell me you have never heard of Nayru?" she exclaimed. Feeling somewhat abashed, I shook my head. "What a strange place you must come from." she said thoughtfully. I just shrugged, since I couldn't think of anything to say. "Well," she said, standing up. "First things first, let's get you some clothes. Then I'll explain everything."

I nodded, and followed her as she went into a third room. It was another bedroom, slightly larger than mine, with two beds and dressers, and some paintings hung on the walls. Barb went to the smaller dresser, and began rummaging through it. "Your rather small," she said, more to herself than to me. "All the older girls in the village are much taller than you, and of course you won't fit in any of the men's clothes." She pulled out a pair of light brown trousers and a white shirt and handed them to me. "These are some of my son's clothes. He's twelve, and small for his age, but they'll probably still be a little big for you. Unfortunately, he's the closest to you in size, so you'll just have to deal until I can make you something else." I nodded, and Barb stood up. "Well what are you just standing there for? Go to your room and change!" she said.

Barb had been right about the clothes. The trousers weren't too bad, except that they were slightly loose around the waist and I had to roll them up about three inches, but the shirt came almost to my knees, so that I had to tie it in a knot at my stomach, which didn't keep it from constantly falling off one of my shoulders. After trying several times to fix that and not succeeding, I had given up and went back into the kitchen.

Barb was waiting for me, and she took me on a tour of Amevia while she told me what I didn't know, which was pretty much everything, about the place I was now in. She explained that thousands of years ago Hyrule (apparently the name of the world I was now in) had been created by the three goddesses. Din, the goddess of fire and power. Farore, the goddess of wind and courage. And Nayru, the goddess of healing and wisdom, who the people of Amevia served.

Every year, on the first eve of summer, the people of Amevia held a ceremony honoring Nayru. The young unmarried girls of the village (young being age eight to twenty) would bathe in purifying water to cleanse themselves and adorn the special clothes created for the occasion. They would then perform the ritual dance, while others of the village played instruments. Afterwards there would be a great feast that continued through the night. I asked Barb what purifying water was, and she explained that it was a special water found in a spring that ran through the village. It was said to purify the body and soul, and was usually used for healing. I realized that must have been the strange water she had dabbed on my face that had stung so much.

As we walked about the village, Barb introduced me to many people, including her son, Hogan. Hogan had been playing around the well when we ran into him. He was thin and short, though still several inches taller than I. He had dark red hair and blue eyes that reminded me with a pang of Jenni.

Hogan blushed when his mother introduced me to him, and he immediately demanded to know why she had let _some girl_ wear his clothes. Barb scolded him, and apologized to me for his rude behavior, but I was hardly paying attention, for now my thoughts were filled with everything that had happened. Things I had almost forgotten about in fascination of my new surroundings. But when I saw Hogan's eyes, that sparkling blue that was so much like Jenni's, everything had come rushing back. And ever afterwards, every time I saw Hogan's eyes, I would instead see Jenni, who I had abandoned when she had needed me most.

My emotions must have shown on my face, for when Barb looked at me she became extremely worried about me and asked if I was alright. I told her that I felt ill, and asked if we could please go back to her home. She nodded, and hastily took me back to the little house and put me to bed.

After that, I did not leave my room for a week, despite Barb constantly telling me that I must come out, I would never get better if I didn't get some sun. But I shut her out, and when she brought food in and tried to coax me to eat, I shut my eyes tight till she gave up and left.

I was consumed by guilt, for I blamed myself for what had happened to Jenni. _If only you weren't such a coward, Rachel._ I told myself over and over again. _If only you had tried to stop those birds sooner, you could have saved her. In fact, even before that. You should have listened to Jenni when she told you to calm down, instead of running off like a frightened animal. Then you would both probably be safe at home now, instead of this dreadful place with their monsters and their pagan people._

I slept little, for when I did I dreamed of Jenni being carried off by monster birds, screaming for me to help her and reaching out towards me, and me just sitting there, watching her be taken away. In other dreams I would hear Jenni speaking to me, asking Why hadn't I helped her? Why had I abandoned her? Hadn't she always been there for me? Why hadn't I done the same for her? And I simply listened to her accusations, saying nothing, for I knew she was right.


	3. Chapter 3

ok, so here's ch. 3. i think rachel will meet link either this chapter or the next. please R&R!

i do not own zelda.

Chapter 3

One day Barb came in and told me she had had enough. That if I didn't get out of bed right now and come eat she was going to force me to. I ignored her, and shut my eyes, waiting for her to go away. But this time she didn't. She grabbed my arm (the right, of course) and literally dragged me, kicking and screaming, to the kitchen and sat me at the table. When Hogan glanced at me I glared at him fiercely and he quickly looked away and didn't look at me again.

Barb put a bowl of the oatmeal stuff in front of me, and when I didn't touch it she forced the spoon in my mouth, and I swallowed since it was either that or spit it back out. After Barb had force fed me several spoonfuls of the oatmeal, she sent me back to my room and forced me to drink a strange liquid that burned my mouth and throat. I fell asleep almost immediately after she left, and dreamed my nightmares as usual, though I didn't wake up till morning.

The next few days followed basically the same route, though I didn't struggle as much. Then, I decided that I was tired of the way things were going, and when Barb came to get me out of bed one morning, I got up myself and ate the oatmeal she put before me willingly. Barb sat at the table with me for while. "Why don't you tell me what happened before we found you." she said.

I stared down at my empty bowl, and she waited patiently for me to answer. Finally, I told her everything that happened, leaving out the part with the train and the hole.

"I see," Barb said when I had finished. "It sounds like a lot happened."

I nodded, and stood up to go back to my room. I didn't feel like talking anymore. Barb followed me in with the liquid that she told me was purifying water mixed with a sleeping draft. I drank all of it, and lay down, closing my eyes.

"Rachel." I looked at Barb in the doorway. "You mustn't blame yourself for what happened to your friend." She closed the door, leaving me to ponder what she had said before sleep overtook me.

Over the next several weeks Barb said the same thing to me every night, and what she said must have subconsciously affected me for I started to feel better about myself, though I still blamed myself partially for what happened to Jenni. Eventually I began to wander outside, and I spent my days exploring the village. I soon found a place just outside the village where there was an overhang looking out over a wide field that seemed to stretch for miles, and beside the overhang the entrance to the forest. People rarely came to this spot, and I would go there when I wanted to be alone. Barb found out I was going here, and said it was fine but warned me not to go into the forest, which I didn't.

After about a month and a half, my arm had completely healed. Barb quit giving me purifying water, but still gave me a sleeping draft. One morning, when Hogan and I were eating breakfast, Barb brought out a small wooden box and gave it to me. It was painted dark red, and had delicate vines and leaves carved into it. At Barb's urging I opened the box and gasped. Laid in the box was my ocarina. It had been freshly polished, and now hung on a cord so that I could wear it around my neck. I had thought I lost the ocarina when the birds attacked, and now here it was, lying in a beautiful little box. I looked up at Barb, at a loss for words.

Barb smiled. "We found it on the ground that day, near where you were lying, and we figured it must be yours. It was a bit battered and dirty, so I had it cleaned up for you. I wanted to put the cord on it so you wouldn't lose it. Ocarinas are precious instruments, and very rare these days. It would be such a shame to lose it, specifically one such as yours. I must ask, where did you get it?"

"My mother gave it to me," I replied, turning the ocarina over in my hands to make sure it really was mine.

"I see." She stared off into the distance for a moment, as if lost in thought. When she came back to herself, she smiled at me again and said, "You must thank Hogan. He put the cord on."

I turned to Hogan. "Did you really?"

He nodded, and looked away, his face turning bright red.

"How sweet!" I exclaimed. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," I said softly. He blushed even deeper, and I giggled inwardly as I got up and took the ocarina to my own room.

When I thought back on it later, I was rather surprised by my boldness. But I supposed it wasn't that strange, since Hogan had become almost a brother to me. Even so, I felt my face grow a little hot when I thought about it.

Time passed while I lived in Amevia. I remember asking Barb one day about the ritual, and she telling me that the first day of summer had come and gone while I had slept after they first found me. I was rather disappointed about this, so when summer neared my second year there, I found myself getting more excited with each day. It seemed I was not the only one, for the people of the village grew livelier and more talkative, and anticipation hung in the air.

Finally the day came. Everyone was working, preparing for that night, when the dance and feast would be held. Barb stayed in the kitchen all day, cooking, and Hogan went outside to decorate. I found myself alone, the only one not doing anything. I tried to help Barb with the cooking, but she insisted I needn't do anything, that I should just do as I always did. So, I went over to my spot, and sat there playing my ocarina for awhile. But even that grew boring soon, and I wandered around the village, watching people set up. I went back to the house after I few hours, and Barb suggested I take a nap, since I would probably be up the whole night, and since I had nothing else to do, I took her advice.

It was then, for the first time in months, that Jenni appeared in my dreams. The image was blurred and indistinct, only her eyes were clear, full of hatred. What are you doing? she demanded. How dare you sit around and wait for your fun filled little night to come, while I am here suffering?

I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at her blankly.

Isn't it bad enough that you let this happen to me in the first place? Her voice rose, and her blue eyes gleamed with anger. Aren't I supposed to be your friend? Don't best friends take care of each other? How could you abandon me, after all I've done for you?

Jenni, I-I haven't abandoned you, I argued, I was just…

Just what? Just enjoying your new, troublesome little life where you don't have to do anything and everyone takes care of you? If you haven't abandoned me, then why haven't you come to save me? And with that the image began to fade. I ran towards her and tried to grab her, but my arms went right through, and I fell to the floor, sobbing, as she disappeared.

When I woke up my face and pillow was damp, meaning I had been crying in my sleep. I crawled out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. Barb wasn't there, and neither was all the food she had made. Outside I heard the sounds of talk and laughter, and I went out to see what was up. Almost immediately I ran into Barb. "There you are," she said. "I was just coming to get you up!"

"Why?" I asked.

"The ceremony's about to start!" she explained.

I followed her to the center of the village, where there was a large crowd of people. Finally, it was time for the ritual dance to begin. The girls got into formation, and the dance began, led by one girl who had been chosen to lead the others. At last, the thing I had looked forward to for almost a year had begun, and yet I hardly paid attention. I tried to enjoy myself, but my mind kept wandering back to the vision of Jenni. I could still clearly see the anger burning in her eyes, and the hatred in her voice. Jenni, my best friend, who had always taken care of me, hated me now, and I deserved her hatred. I should have been doing all I could to save her, and instead I had left her to her fate. It was then, at that moment, as the girls twirled around by light of the setting sun, I made a decision that would alter my life forever.


End file.
